Communication networks, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), for transporting electrical representations of audible sounds from one location to another are well known. Additionally, packet switched networks, such as the Internet, are able to perform a similar function by transporting packets containing data that represents audible sounds from one location to another, the audible sounds being encoded into digital data and placed into packets at the origination point and the digital data being extracted form the packets and decoded into audible sounds at the destination point.
These communication networks are also able to allow multiple people to participate in a single call, typically known as a “conference call.” In a conference call, the audible sounds at each device, usually telephones, are distributed to all of the other devices participating in the conference call. Thus, each participant in the conference call may share information with all of the other participants.
Unfortunately, during a conference call, it may be difficult for a participant to determine who is speaking unless she is familiar with the voices of the other participants. One attempt to combat this problem is to associate identification information for a participant with a particular device, such as the telephone at the person's desk. However, if someone else uses that person's device for a conference call, this information is not only of limited use, but sometimes misleading. Additionally, if multiple people use one device, such as a speaker phone, the associated information is again of limited use. Furthermore, even if the participant is familiar with the voices of the other participants, it may still be difficult to distinguish between them.